However, there is consensus that the bites of certain dogs are
likely to be more harmful than others. The Pit Bull is by far the
most dangerous by this standard. Its jaws have the most crushing
strength, and they lock shut on their prey. Pit Bulls attack without
warning or reason, and will continue biting as long as they wish;
they have been known to continue an attack even after being beaten
with two-by-four wood beams and struck with gunfire.

“However, there is consensus that the bites of certain dogs are likely to be more harmful than others. The Pit Bull is by far the most dangerous by this standard. Its jaws have the most crushing strength, and they lock shut on their prey. Pit Bulls attack without warning or reason, and will continue biting as long as they wish; they have been known to continue an attack even after being beaten with two-by-four wood beams and struck with gunfire. “

As your website is looked upon as a factual source of bite information I would like to address this paragraph in detail.

“Its jaws have the most crushing strength”
Pit Bulls do have a strong bite, but it is no stronger than the jaws of a Mastiff, Rottweiler, Doberman, German Shepherd, St. Bernard or many other large breed dogs. The studies on ‘bite pressure’ are urban legend and have never been confirmed by actual scientific research. Of course, if you are comparing the damage that a Pit Bull bite can do versus the damage a Daschund, of course the large dog can and will do more damage. However, the sheer size of the dog has more to do with that than anything else. The bite of a Cocker Spaniel may be less damaging than the bite from a Pit Bull, but you are far more likely to be bitten by the Cocker Spaniel.

“they lock shut on their prey”
No dog has ‘locking jaws’. The physiology of all dog breeds is nearly identical, and no breed has any mechanism in their jaw to allow the dog to ‘lock it’. Nor does any breed of dog have a jaw that will lock shut on its own. The locking jaw myth is based on the stubborn tenacity of the bull breeds. If they have a hold of something and they don’t WANT to let go you will have a very hard time convincing them to do so. This is not to be confused with an actual, physical ‘locking mechanism’

“Pit Bulls attack without warning or reason”
A correctly bred, raised and trained Pit Bull would never dream of attacking a person. Pit Bulls were bred for extreme bite inhibition for humans, this was necessary in the ‘pit’ days of the breed. Dogmen had to be able to safely approach fighting dogs and separate them if necessary. They could not risk the dog redirecting and biting the handler. For many dogs, the pit is a distant ancestral memory, but the instinct to avoid biting a human is still there.

Unfortunately, there are horrible people in this world who breed unsound, dangerous dogs. These dogs, in the hands of nasty, abusive owners, become human aggressive and unstable in other ways as well. You can not logically judge an entire breed of dogs based on the behavior of a few dogs who are abused and neglected beyond endurance.

“and will continue biting as long as they wish”
Pit Bulls are descendants of the bull dogs used in bull baiting. They were expected to bite and hold, not bite and re-grip. When a dog latched onto the nose of a bull, if it re-gripped it was probably going to die via the horns and hooves of the very angry bovine it was just attached to. Frequent, fast bites are found in herding breeds, not bull breeds.

“they have been known to continue an attack even after being beaten with two-by-four wood beams and struck with gunfire”
This goes back to my earlier information on the almost legendary stubbornness of the breed. They won’t let go if they don’t want to let go. That is a choice, not an inability.

Finally, I would like to address the differences between a ‘Pit Bull’ and a ‘pit bull’.

The Pit Bull is a distinct breed of dog, no different than a Poodle, Pomeranian or Chow Chow.

The pit bull is a classification of dog that is usually characterized by short hair, a stocky build, a square head and powerful body. There are no less than 17 breeds of dogs that fall under this classification, making the ‘pit bull’ bite statistics extremely inaccurate, as 17 breeds are counted as one. This is the same inaccuracy as classifying Labrador Retrievers, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and Golden Retrievers as the same breed, because they are all ‘retrievers’. The following dogs often fall under the classification ‘pit bull’: Pit Bull, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldog, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Patterdale Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Presa Canario, Boxer, Olde English Bulldog, and of course, all mixes of the dog breeds listed above.

I own a Pit Bull/American Bulldog mix that is often mistaken for a Boxer – even by people who breed Boxers and participate in Boxer rescue. Many breeds are easily mistaken for each other by the untrained eye.

I would encourage you to correct the information on your website, as the misleading information in the paragraph above spreads fear and encourages prejudice against the breed (and the breed classification).

This is my dog Ruby, she is three years old and has earned both her AKC CGC title and her Therapy Dog certification from Therapy Dogs International.

The second dog is Connor, the Pit Bull I fostered at my home for a few months before my boyfriend adopted him. The first picture is him the day he arrived at my home, full grown and only 34 pounds. He was found a week earlier weighing 29 pounds. Someone had confined him and left him to starve to death. The second picture is him now. He is happy, healthy and well adjusted to life. Pit Bulls have an amazing ability to take the worst that human kind can dish out and still wag their tails and beg for petting. Connor has also earned his CDC title and TDI certification.

I would love to hear back from you, and hope that you will take this information to heart.

This is my dog Ruby, she is three years old and has earned both her AKC CGC title and her Therapy Dog certification from Therapy Dogs International.

The second dog is Connor, the Pit Bull I fostered at my home for a few months before my boyfriend adopted him. The first picture is him the day he arrived at my home, full grown and only 34 pounds. He was found a week earlier weighing 29 pounds. Someone had confined him and left him to starve to death. The second picture is him now. He is happy, healthy and well adjusted to life. Pit Bulls have an amazing ability to take the worst that human kind can dish out and still wag their tails and beg for petting. Connor has also earned his CDC title and TDI certification.

they have been known to continue an attack even after being beaten with two-by-four

I think I've seen this be4. It was some cop that was standing in the street and wanted to talk to the homeowner. The lady goes "If you don't go away I'm gonna let Daisy(I forget the name of the dog so I just made one up) out!" Then the door swung open and out came the pitbull. It bit the female cop on the arm and then a neighbor came over and wacked it on the back with a piece of wood and the dog didn't let go.

It was one of those "You'll never see this on TV" movies. That was the only scene with a APBT.